the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Thembe Khumalo
I am a person who likes to start things - conversations (if I hear anyone in the supermarket speaking Ndebele I feel compelled to join in), friendships, projects, songs, businesses, stories…. I just love the energy that comes with new beginnings. The planning and preparations, putting tools, and people and ideas together, all give me a high that is unlike anything else I have experienced. And so of course, I tend to start a lot of things.
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by Sinal Govender and Claire Keet
There are a lot of wonderful things that come with adulthood. The freedom of finally being able to drive. And vote. And become a director in a company. And change your name. By law, you are no longer considered a minor. With adulthood, however, comes a whole lot of responsibility - including making sure that you have your “ducks in a row”.
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by Naike Moshi
If there's one thing we all have in common, it's that we all make mistakes along the way (and hopefully learn valuable lessons from them). But if you're smart, you'll learn as much as possible from the mistakes of others and spare yourself some of the grief. Some of these lessons can applied whether you are employed, self- employed or unemployed.
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Anna Pugačova
Book Review
For all those who feel they have been struggling in their businesses for a long time and cannot see results, help could be at hand in the book, The Bliss Point of Entrepreneurship, from business and neuroscience coach and educator, Anna Pugačova. If you are looking to reclaim your entrepreneurial spark and start living the life you really want to live, this could be the book for you.
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Sibongile Mthimunye, founder, BWGL Group (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)
Lioness Launch
Both businesses and households know the importance of maintaining clean, safe and healthy environments for people to work and live in. That means ensuring they are cleaned regularly with effective products that are good at cleaning and disinfecting, and also kind to the environment. In South Africa, entrepreneur Sibongile Mthimunye, founder of BWGL Group (Pty) Ltd, is launching a range of powerful yet environmentally friendly cleaning products for every type of environment.
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Andrea Massamba, founder, AM Support - Marketing and Publicity Agency (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Andrea Massamba is a founder of AM Support - Marketing and Publicity Agency in Mozambique, a business she started in June 2020, when she found an opportunity during Covid. She understood that some organizations had to close because of Covid, so she decided to start her business to help the organizations continue to be active on social media, supporting them with their communication, scheduling posts, producing content etc. And now she's growing step by step.
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Startup Story
Frutee Belliez is a South African agroprocessing business founded by sisters Mbaliyethu(Lisa) Mthethwa and Masibonge (Lona) Mnguni. They have over 10 years’ experience as entrepreneurs, and their company focuses on processing fruits and vegetables and supplying them to industrial kitchens, as well as catering companies. They have won numerous awards with the most recent being Top Processor in KZN in the Department of Agriculture Female Farmer Entrepreneur Competition in 2018.
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Annie Sibindi Muronda
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Rufaro Garments, an African school uniform manufacturing business making great garments affordable
Annie Sibindi Muronda is the founder and managing director of Rufaro Garments based in South Africa, and has overall executive management responsibility for the company. Annie has a BSc in Actuarial Science from the University of Nebraska and an MBA with a specialization in Finance from DeVry University. She began her career in the financial services space where she consulted at US based global management consulting firms Towers Perrin, Mercer Consulting and Watson Wyatt. It was here that Annie gained valuable experience in solving problems for clients and discovered a talent for operational management of large businesses. After immigrating to South Africa in 2010, Annie joined an actuarial benefits consulting firm as a senior consultant where she helped establish it as rising star in the retirement fund valuation and administration space.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
Without doubt the greatest playwright this world has ever known, not least because his plays delve deep into the psyche of the human mind and thereby stay relevant for all age, William Shakespeare knew a thing or two about decision making and their consequences, intended or otherwise. From the horrific decision by Macbeth to kill the King; to the indecision of Hamlet fighting with his thoughts and morals (to kill the King); to the madness of King Lear following his insistence that his Daughters tell him which loves him more; to the jealous decisions of Othello utterly convinced that his wife is cheating on him; to the horrific unintended consequences of Romeo and Juliet, with both dead in the end (he wrote so many incredible plays, we should perhaps stop there!). But decisions rule our lives.
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by Thembe Khumalo
Here’s a quick story. It's about a young women called Lerato who had a very successful career, following an equally successful time at Harvard Business School. She had made a name for herself working in some of the most exciting, sexiest organisations on the continent - starting at Jumia, moving on to MTN, working closely with Dangote himself, promoted to the C Suite at Coca Cola. She was a devoted and loyal executive - and she had the salary, perks and power to reflect this. She joined a fashionable, but credible church where she quickly became a deaconess. People wanted to hear from her. Doors opened magically in her wake. She felt powerful.
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by Clementina Busayo
Has anyone ever asked you after you became friends what your first impression about them was? A friend asked me, and the truth is I didn't give an answer because I couldn't remember what our first meeting was? Blame it on me for not being observant or on him for not being impressionable.
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by Brigette Mashile
It is 5 minutes to 3am and I’m up. I have taken a shower; made tea and I am writing. Not one thing seems wrong with all of it, I am happy in this moment. I have trained my brain to believe that somewhere in the world it is midday, and they are making lunch! The only reason it is night is because the sun is on the other side, so honestly it could be day here too now…no? Ok, fine, you may sleep but let me be.
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by Naike Moshi
Is your recruitment process costing you excess time and money? Here are 5 ways you can 'lean out' your recruitment process to get better results.
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Shaquila Antonio, founder, Confeitando Com Amor (Mozambique)
Startup Story
For all those who have a sweet tooth and love to celebrate every occasion with a beautiful cake, Confeitando Com Amor in Mozambique, founded by creative confectioner Shaquila Antonio, has just what you need. Her cake brand has built up a great customer following in her city of Beira and is set to grow further over the coming years.
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Amina Slaoui
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
AMH Group, positively changing lives and overcoming barriers for people with disabilities
Amina Slaoui is the president and founder of AMH Group (Morocco), a pioneering leader in social entrepreneurship in Morocco and a non-profit association founded in 1992. She is a leading figure in the fight against disability and inequalities and an award-winning social and inclusive entrepreneur. Her involvement with the AMH group, formerly known as Amicale Marocaine des Handicapés - Friendly Moroccan Association of People with Disabilities, has been awarded several prizes, such as the Takreem Prize for “Philanthropy and Social Acts” in 2014 and the prestigious Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year award during the World Economic Forum in 2015.
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Lorna Mashiba, founder, Rangi Gallery (Tanzania)
Startup Story
Lorna Mashiba is the founder of Rangi Gallery in Tanzania, a virtual platform that connects African artists to Intercontinental art enthusiasts. As the founder of Rangi Gallery, she aspires to grow, empower and transform local talent beyond its borders.
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Lizl Naude, founder, Lilly Loompa
Lioness Launch
South African upcycling design company, Lilly Loompa, founded by the talented eco-designer Lizl Naude, opened its ‘first of its kind’ concept shop on 17 November 2021 in Paarl, Western Cape. Known for celebrating the possibilities of upcycling waste, Lilly Loompa is known far and wide for its quirky, upcycled décor items. But more than that, Lizl herself is known for her purposeful and environmentally-consciousness approach to design. A great example of this can be seen in the launch in 2020, during the pandemic, the “My Africa Lap Desk”, currently the brand’s most popular product and made with discarded, waste material.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
The above powerful photo of Sázia Sousa, in her words “a proud member of Lionesses”, the General Director of Technoplus, Lda, Mozambique (here), taken by the brilliant Giulia Bosis, says it all for what we are, as she says:
“A note for the International Women Entrepreneur's Day:
Be a # woman and be a # entrepreneur! I have this photo as a symbol of much that I have achieved so far. And for all women I scream: We do not want to be equal to men. We do not want to stop taking care of the house or the children. We just want them to stop looking at women as a being incapable of opinion, intelligence, and strength. We want to stop conditioning our life to a successful marriage. We want to continue being women, but above all, we want to be human beings able to help our community.”
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Arianna Taboada
Book Review
In her book, The Expecting Entrepreneur, parental leave consultant Arianna Taboada asks women entrepreneurs a key question - your life is baby-ready, but did you baby-proof your business? She knows that when you’re the boss, planning for much-needed parental leave, making money, and the survival of your business can feel overwhelming. You deserve to recover from childbirth and transition into this new chapter without the stress of work. The Expecting Entrepreneur shows you how to design a parental leave that works for you, your family, and your business, without having to sacrifice your entrepreneurial success.
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by Thuli Zikalala
Happy creative, a marketing agency based in the UK, reveal that market research is a crucial part of any business. Although businesses may think they know who their target market is, after some research, they are often surprised – and pivot their strategy to match the data collected. Here are three benefits of conducting market research they mention.
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